Deadline is approaching to get your dog chipped

A Leighton Buzzard vets is chipping in to help dog owners comply with a new law that comes into force on April 6.

Under the The Microchipping of Dogs (England) Regulations 2015, all dogs over the age of eight weeks must be microchipped and their keeper’s details registered with a central database.

The only permitted exemption is when the animal is deemed by a vet, in writing, to be unfit to undergo the procedure.

Owners who do not comply with the new legislation can be served with a notice requiring the dog to be microchipped, and may face criminal prosecution and a £500 fine if they do not then comply.

Ark House, in Hockliffe Street, recommends microchipping all dogs and cats as a matter of course in order to give the best chance of being reunited should he/she go missing.

The procedure is quick and painless - the microchip itself is smaller than a grain of rice and is implanted gently under the skin at the back of your pet’s neck.

Once in place it provides a unique, and permanent method of identification - all you need to do is remember to update your contact details whenever you change mobile numbers or email addresses, or if you move house. Microchipping is just £10 until the end of April.

Ark House has been able to reunite several stray pets with their worried owners by scanning their microchips after they were brought into the practice by concerned members of the public.